@Grim87 wrote:Hi all - I've been asking a few folks on this, but wanted to give it its own thread due to varying opinions.
Comenity is ending it's Wayfair card in September. I happen to have a very high credit line with a decently high balance. When they close the card and I continue to pay my balance, how will that impact my utilization?
Will the balance continue to count against my revolving with no limit to offset? Or will it not impact my overall utilization?
My dilemma is that I paid off EVERY card but Wayfair, planning to get a mortgage in September. If this does impact my utilization I'll get a much worse rate than I would now. My other option is to get a personal loan to pay off Wayfair, but I don't want to burn a hard inquiry unless I know 100% it will impact my utilization.
Thank you all, this site is the best!
My experience has been that "the balance continue[s] to count against my revolving with no limit to offset".
This is consistent with this thought by @Thomas_Thumb : "My thought has been closed accounts count toward aggregate utilization. I tend to agree that a closed account has zero credit limit so influence on aggregate is the debt obligation."
It is also consistent with this article, which says: "When you close a credit card, particularly one that has a balance, the credit limit is no longer factored into your credit score, so your credit utilization ratio can shoot up immediately. Your credit utilization ratio measures how much of your total available credit you’re using. If you lose some available credit but carry the same amount of debt, your ratio will go up."
My experience was that approximately 7 months ago Bank of America closed 2 of my accounts. Both had balances. Because both balances are subject to a promotional 0% interest rate, I have not paid them off entirely, so I have had 7 months to observe their treatment for aggregate utilization purposes, in both MyFICO.com and Experian.com. The limits immediately disappeared from my available credit, but the balances remained in my indebtedness.
(Nevertheless, I would not recommend applying for a personal loan in the runup to a mortgage; I would just pay the card down as best I could)
Maybe it depends on the creditor? NFCU suspended/closed my CashRewarss Visa in 2017....the card was maxed (20/20k).
My credit line disappeared but the balance remained....however, I'm not sure if it impacts UTIL on FICO 8.
As of 8/2/2020 the closed NFCU balance is still 15k. Meanwhile my total credit lines are 63k/58k (109% UTIL in reality and FAKO) but overall UTIL on FICO8 reports as 77% on EQ and 83% on TU and EX.
I agree with trying to pay it down as much as you can in preparation for the mortgage loan. Also, could you ask a different creditor for a soft pull CLI to help with UTIL?
012019 Fico8/Mortgage Score: 
@Grim87 wrote:I researched on my own file last night. The old Comenity Serta account that was closed due to the program ending is still reporting the $4,000 limit to my file. I then cross referenced my Credit Karma utilization number and it appears to be counting still. Who knows! LOL
My limits continue to report.
But they are no longer included in my available limits for purposes of calculating aggregate revolving utilization.
@newmomnewme wrote:Maybe it depends on the creditor? NFCU suspended/closed my CashRewarss Visa in 2017....the card was maxed (20/20k).
My credit line disappeared but the balance remained....however, I'm not sure if it impacts UTIL on FICO 8.
As of 8/2/2020 the closed NFCU balance is still 15k. Meanwhile my total credit lines are 63k/58k (109% UTIL in reality and FAKO) but overall UTIL on FICO8 reports as 77% on EQ and 83% on TU and EX.
I agree with trying to pay it down as much as you can in preparation for the mortgage loan. Also, could you ask a different creditor for a soft pull CLI to help with UTIL?
I believe it does depend on the creditor, as I have seen reports in this forum of some strange things happening when accounts are closed with a balance.
What happened in my case, though, is probably typical. The limit on each card continues to be reported, but is no longer counted as available credit for purposes of calculating aggregate revolving utilization.